


Hand In Hand

by pikablob



Category: Hilda (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Marra Frida AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21944524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikablob/pseuds/pikablob
Summary: Weeks after Frida cut ties with her friends, choosing to hang out with Kelly instead, Hilda receives a surprise visitor.My gift fordailywoodman on Tumblras part of the 2019 Hilda Secret Santa!!
Relationships: Frida/Hilda (Hilda)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 149





	Hand In Hand

It was getting on towards evening. The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows into Trollberg’s streets, and most people had long ago made their way home. Few people wanted to be out and about; even with the Black Hound gone the incident had still left many shaken and afraid.

None of that bothered Hilda. She was at home, perched on the edge of the sofa. Something was playing on the TV but she hadn’t been paying attention for a while. Instead she was reading the book in her lap, a recommendation from the Librarian on mythical creatures that supposedly inhabited the city. She already had half a dozen new ideas for adventures from the first few pages alone.

She glanced down; Twig was curled up on the cushion beside her, half-asleep, murmuring contentedly.

“I think we should investigate the Lántakendur next,” she said, glancing between him and the page. “What do you think?” He didn’t reply. She turned the page. “Ooh! What about this?” She turned the book so he could see the illustration: a diminutive humanoid with paws and a large hat. “The Snusmumriken?”

Twig raised his head, beady eyes squinting at the illustration, and gave out a quiet yelp. She took the book back, not really sure what to make of his reaction, and flipped the page again. The next entry was about ghosts, with an illustration that looked remarkably familiar.

It was an uncomfortable reminder of everything that had happened. She frowned as she thought back to when she’d gone to the graveyard with David and Frida; they’d ended up having to wrestle a ghost for Frida’s book, only to discover it was the wrong one. Frida had stormed off, blaming them for the failure, and neither Hilda nor David had really seen her since.

They’d tried once, but Frida had wanted nothing to do with them. She had a new best friend, a teenage girl named Kelly, and it seemed she was the only person Frida had time for. She hadn’t even come to the Sparrow Scouts’ camping trip, too busy with Kelly and her other friends. It made Hilda worry: she could tell a mile off the teen’s intentions weren’t good, but what could she do if Frida wouldn’t even talk to her?

She looked back to the book, rapidly flipping a few pages ahead in an attempt to take her mind off things. An illustration of a man in old clothes, smoke rising off his body, greeted her; beneath, the book labelled the creature as a ‘leerie’. Intrigued, she read on; apparently these things were urban spirits that went around lighting lamps and guiding lost travellers. Maybe she could encounter one by pretending to be lost?

There was a knock at the door. Twig yelped, leaping to his hooves and nearly falling off the sofa. Hilda jumped to her feet, quickly setting the book down on the table. She briskly crossed the room to the door, not sure who it could be. She certainly wasn’t expecting anyone, unless Mum had any visitors or deliveries she had forgotten to mention.

She took a breath and slowly opened the door. An empty street presented itself, lit by orange sunlight. Nobody was at the door. She stuck her head through the doorway, not sure if she was somehow mistaken, and glanced around the street.

She did a double take. Only a couple of steps beyond the door’s view was the culprit, briskly walking away. Her dark, curly hair and blue hoodie were unmistakeable.

“Frida?” Hilda asked, halfway through the doorway. Frida froze mid-step, before turning back to face her. “Did you knock on my door?”

“No,” Frida said defensively. “Why would I want to talk to you?”

“Because we used to be friends?” Hilda blurted, unable to stop herself. Frida winced.

“Used to be?” she said quietly, before frowning. “Look, just forget I was here, okay? It’s nothing!” she finished firmly.

“Did Kelly put you up to this?” Hilda prodded, not willing to let Frida get away again.

“Why would you say that?” Frida retorted, folding her arms. “Of course she didn’t! What is it with you?! Why does she matter at all?!”

“Because she’s not really your friend!” Hilda yelled, the sound reverberating off the surrounding houses.

“What do you mean?” Frida demanded, teeth gritted. But her tone wavered.

“Ever since you’ve been hanging out with her she’s been cutting you off from everything and everyone you used to like!” Hilda rebutted. “You haven’t been at Sparrow Scouts in weeks, you’ve been ignoring us, and I’m worried about you! I can tell she’s up to no good; when you’re with her, do you ever do stuff you want to do, or is only what she wants?”

Frida didn’t answer, glaring at the floor instead of speaking. Hilda threw up her hands.

“See!” she continued. “Okay, so maybe I wasn’t the best friend ever. Sometimes stuff happens, but at least I was actually a friend! She’s just using you!”

Silence followed, broken only by the gentle whistling of a breeze along the street. Frida kept her gaze on the pavement, and in the evening light Hilda couldn’t quite make out her expression.

“Frida, I-”

“No,” Frida said quietly, cutting her off, “You’re right. That’s why I’m here.”

“What?”

“You’re right!” Frida finally looked up, and Hilda could see the pained expression on her face. “About Kelly,” she added quickly.

“Okay,” Hilda breathed, not quite sure what to say. “Do you still want to come in, and then we can talk?” Frida nodded, but didn’t say anything more. She walked gingerly back to the door; Hilda stepped back and she followed her in, gently closing the door behind her.

Twig approached, sniffing the air and then her guardedly. Suddenly he dropped to his haunches, hackles raised, and let out a low growl.

“Twig?” Hilda asked, looking down at the deerfox. “This is Frida; you know her.” He looked up at her, then growled again, louder than before. She stepped between him and Frida, not sure what to make of this. She looked back; Frida’s expression was something between confused and worried.

“Hilda?” she asked, drawing the girl’s attention back.

“Right.” Hilda forced a smile. “What happened with Kelly?”

“Before I talk about that,” Frida said uncertainly, “Can I just say something else?”

“Mhmm,” Hilda murmured. Frida took a deep breath, as if psyching herself up for what she was about to say. She looked up, meeting Hilda’s gaze.

“Hilda, I’m sorry!” she blurted out. Hilda blinked. “I’ve been thinking a lot recently,” she went on, “And I’ve realised just how awful I was to you.”

“Frida-”

“I need to do this,” she cut Hilda off, “Please.” The blue-haired girl nodded in understanding, letting her continue. “You raised the dead for me, and wrestled with one! And all I did was act ungrateful and try and cut you and David out of my life. I spent all this time thinking I was getting over you guys, when all I was really doing was distracting myself from how I messed up.”

“We did those things together,” Hilda said, gently taking her hand, “And you aren’t the only one who made mistakes; I nearly stole Mum and David’s souls. It’s okay. Apology accepted.”

“Thanks,” Frida replied. She was quiet for a moment, before reaching up to rub the back of her neck with her free hand. “I guess I should tell you about the… about Kelly, right?” Hilda nodded, concern etched into her face. Frida sighed and continued.

“You were right in that we only ever did what she wanted,” she explained, voice quavering. “The night when I was meant to go camping with the Sparrow Scouts, she convinced me to come along to a meeting with her friends instead. I didn’t want to lose her, not after losing you and David, and I thought maybe I could get the rest of them to like me so I went along.”

“What happened there?”

“We met in the Huldrawood,” she explained. “There were several other girls, all older than me, and we all gathered around this weird green campfire. Kelly and Jaeden talked about what we were doing and introduced me, and then everyone took turns breathing it in. I really didn’t want to but I was too scared to go against everyone so I did too.”

“You took part in a magic ritual?!” Hilda couldn’t help herself. Frida nodded, ashamed.

“And that was just the first time,” she went on, “I went back three more times. It got easier each time, and I stopped thinking about it, until the whole ritual was complete and I couldn’t go back. It was only then that what I’d done actually sank in. I told Kelly I was done, that I wanted to undo it all, and she just laughed at me. And everyone else did too; they said it was too late, and I was a coward.” She looked down.

“I’ve seen you face down some pretty scary creatures,” Hilda countered, gently squeezing her hand in reassurance, “Whatever you are, you aren’t a coward. What did the fire do, anyway?”

“Promise you won’t freak out?”

“We raised the dead together, remember?” she took Frida’s other hand, intertwining their fingers. A faint blush dusted Frida’s cheeks. “I’ve seen a lot of crazy things on adventures; nothing you can do will freak me out, promise.”

“Okay,” she answered quietly. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating intently. Slowly her feet lifted of the ground, and her hair rose to float up in the air. A faint green glow enveloped her, gas seeping from it. Twig let out another growl from across the room, but Hilda remained calm.

“You’re a Marra,” she breathed. Frida opened her eyes, mouth opening and shutting as she tried to think of something to say. “That’s amazing!” Hilda continued. “I didn’t even know you _could_ become a Marra.”

“Neither did I,” Frida joked, “But, Hilda, you don’t understand. Marra aren’t just girls with magic nightmare powers. They’re- we’re spirits!”

“Huh.”

“I don’t think I need to eat or drink anymore,” she said frantically, “I know I don’t need to sleep. I still do, but I don’t need to. I might not even age anymore! What am I going to do?! What if my parents find out?!”

“We’ll just have to change you back,” Hilda said gently, carefully pulling Frida back down and grounding her.

“But Jaeden said-”

“The Marra were manipulating you,” she countered. “And even if they weren’t lying they can’t know everything.” Frida seemed to calm down, an uncertain smile growing on her face. “I know! We’ll go to the library tomorrow: me, you, David, and Alfur. They’ll definitely have something about how to fix this, maybe even in that book we had before.”

“Thanks,” Frida said softly. “But if we don’t find anything…?”

“Then we’ll work around it,” Hilda said firmly, “You’re still you, Marra or not.” Frida hesitated, before nodding in agreement. She let out a breath; for the first time since the graveyard, she felt like things were going to be okay.

“One more thing?” she asked. Hilda nodded. “Would you mind if I stayed over tonight? I just don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course,” Hilda beamed. “I’m sure Mum won’t mind. Will your parents?”

“They’re kind-of used to me staying out unannounced,” Frida admitted, embarrassed, “Cause of Kelly and the Marra rituals. They don’t really like it, but it’s not term time so they haven’t tried to stop me.”

“I’ll just have Mum call them,” Hilda shrugged. She realised she was blushing, and look revealed Frida was doing the same. “Now c’mon; I have to show you this book I have!”

She let go with one hand, making sure to keep the other together, and lead Frida over to the couch. Twig followed, still keeping his distance but no longer growling. Hilda frowned.

“He’ll come around,” she assured, hopping up onto the sofa. Frida followed, perching close beside her. Carefully Hilda picked up the book of urban creatures, setting it down so it spanned across both their laps, spine resting over where their hands were still linked. “Now, I’ve got to show you the Snusmumriken…”

* * *

Johanna breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped through the door, glad to be out of the cold evening air. She shrugged off her coat, placing it on the rack, and gently set her bag down. Hilda was nowhere to be seen; presumably she was camping upstairs.

But as she rounded the corner into the living room she was surprised to see the TV was on. It was turned all the way down, sound barely above a whisper, and showing some auction show neither she nor Hilda normally watched.

She looked across at the sofa and felt her heart melt. Hilda and Frida were sitting on it, both fast asleep in the cold light of the screen. A large book sat between them, open to the last page, and behind it Johanna could see the pair were holding hands; it seemed whatever trouble they’d been having was finally in the past. Frida also seemed to be floating about an inch above the cushion.

Johanna shook her head, but the view didn’t change. The girl was definitely floating. But the pair looked content, and such supernatural happenings were par for the course wherever Hilda went, so Johanna decided she didn’t need to wake them up. Not until dinner, at least.


End file.
